Looters strip Iraqi National Museum of its antiquities

By Elizabeth Day and Philip Sherwell in Baghdad

12:01AM BST 13 Apr 2003

Looters have ransacked the Iraqi National Museum in Baghdad, stealing or destroying thousands of priceless artefacts.

As much of Baghdad descended into chaos after the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime last week, a dozen looters broke into Iraq's biggest archaeological museum, shattering ancient pottery, overturning statues, and escaping with masterpieces.

Surveying the smashed display cases at the museum last night, Nabhal Amin, the deputy director, struggled to hold back the tears. "They have looted or destroyed 170,000 items of antiquity dating back thousands of years," she said. "They were worth billions of dollars."

Amid the chaos, two men were seen hauling an ancient door out of the building and pulling items off the wall. Witnesses reported seeing the mob steal other artefacts.

The museum, one of the world's leading cultural heritage sites, houses masterpieces from the Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic cultures and 5,000-year-old tablets bearing some of the earliest known writing. Also among the collection was a 4,000-year-old silver harp from Ur.

Dominique Collon, the assistant curator of the British Museum's Near Eastern Department, called the events "an absolute disaster".

"Tanks should have been posted outside the museum to protect it and there has been no explanation about why this has not happened.

"The losses will be felt worldwide, but its greatest impact will be on the Iraqi people themselves when it comes to rebuilding their sense of national identity."

International cultural organisations had urged before the war that the cultural heritage of Iraq, which has more than 10,000 archaeological sites, be spared. US forces are making a belated attempt to protect the National Museum, calling on Iraqi policemen to turn up for duty. There is no pay, but 80 have given their services.

Ms Amin said: "The Americans were supposed to protect the museum. If they had just one tank and two soldiers nothing like this would have happened. I hold the American troops responsible."

She added: "They know that this is a museum. They protect oil ministries but not the cultural heritage."

However, there was some scant comfort. Several valuable pieces had already been taken into storage to avoid a repeat of damage suffered during the first Gulf war.

As looting spread across Iraq, a group of protesters took to the streets to demonstrate in Baghdad city centre over the breakdown in law and order. "The Americans replaced the regime and security is part of their responsibility," said Haidir Shawk, a 58-year-old engineer.

Meanwhile, Baghdad's two most prestigious hotels, the Rashid and the Mansur, were both in flames. At the Rashid, long the destination for visiting dignitaries to Baghdad, looters climbed over the railings and hauled out furniture, carpets and television sets to waiting vehicles.

In Mosul and Basra, where British soldiers shot dead five bank robbers on Friday, the looting has outlasted the celebrations. In some well-to-do neighbourhoods, locals have formed armed vigilante groups to protect their property, kicking and punching anyone suspected of plundering goods.

Such action has taken a sinister turn in parts of Baghdad where, amidst the confusion, Iraqis are killing their own people. Haithem Ahmed, a 29-year-old market trader, was killed in crossfire after returning to defend his neighbourhood against looting. He was gunned down by a local man trying to stop car thieves.

The people of Kerrada, a suburb of Baghdad, are establishing an effective neighbourhood scheme to combat the looters. All the stolen goods that are recovered from thieves are taken for safekeeping at the local mosque, to await collection by their owners or the formation of a new government.

With the collapse of Saddam's 24-year regime, Baghdad has plunged into anarchy, with no police force to speak of. Residents complain that US troops are either unwilling or unable to prevent the looting.

"Of course we miss Saddam Hussein now," said Kazem al-Fartisi, 52, who owns several electronics and clothing stores in the al-Arabi market area which was torched Thursday.

"Under him this would never have happened. The police would have stopped the thieves. The Americans are only here to occupy us and drive us into ruin," he said.

US forces have said they are still bringing order to Baghdad and have put a high priority on securing the civilian infrastructure. At least 25 people were injured in looting on Friday. The front windows of some 200 downtown stores were shattered, with everything from loose paper to shoes littering the streets.

In Al-Rasafi market, a merchant, Mohammed al-Shamai, fired his pistol in the air as he saw a band of young looters nearing his seven-storey clothing store.

"We want law and order and we want the Americans to protect our stores," said Mr Shamai, who complained that $50,000 worth of his merchandise had already been stolen.

"If the Americans don't defend us then we'll defend ourselves with our own weapons," added another merchant, Khazen Hussein. Young people were also seen with iron bars running after potential thieves. Almost everything has been considered fair game, from the luxurious homes of regime officials to hospitals and diplomatic missions.

"If the Americans don't do anything, we'll fight against them," said Hazem Shami, a merchant from Baghdad. "Why don't they force the police to come back to work?" He said that while countryside tribes had organised ways to keep order, "here there's nothing, so we will defend ourselves".

• The Home Secretary is to ask the Association of Chief Police Officers to send senior officers as advisers to Iraq as part of a concerted attempt to stop the looting. The decision to call in British police was taken at a meeting of the War Cabinet last week after Tony Blair expressed concern that the looting threatened to sour the celebrations over the fall of Baghdad.

A senior minister told The Telegraph: "We were very concerned at the looting. We agreed on the need both for the Ministry of Defence police and the police force to help them."

The Ministry of Defence is also planning to send up to 20 military police officers to Iraq. So far ministers have announced that just two MoD police officers will fly to Basra this weekend.